Should I repair the 4runner?

I have a 2000 Toyota 4runner 2wd Limited. It has 498,000 Miles on it. I just changed the timing belt and water pump about 20,000 Miles ago. Well the head gasket seems to have blown. The truck still runs and drives just smokes like hell. It did not smoke before the head gasket blew.
Would it be financially worth it to have a shop replace the head gasket(quoted at $1800) or sell it as-is? Also they mentioned that they could swap the motor with one that has fewer miles on it for $2600. I love this truck, it has been a solid performer for me for many years.

Should I sell it as is? maybe get $1500 -$2000 out of it

Or

Drop the $2600 for a newer motor and continue driving it.

Or

Replace the head gasket($1800)

 

damn..half a million miles...money well spent on that car.
how many miles on the newer engine ?

 

I'd fix it and try to get to a million... and a brand new 4 Runner!!!

 

Yep, fix the head gasket and get her to a million. As long as it didn't get hot. Head gaskets can leak coolant into the cylinders and make tons of steamy smoke. What ruins a motor is when the coolant leaks into the oil. That'll wipe out the bearings if you run it very long. Used motors are a crap shoot. If you get a good warranty on it, that could be the way to go.

 

Yeah, a bad wreck can jar the crankshaft and ruin a motor. It might run for a while, show good compression then disintegrate the first time you put a heavy load on it. I've had it happen, wrecked my car, got another one and swapped my motor into it that was a solid runner and looked fine, but it wasn't. The bottom end came apart after a couple weeks. On the flip side, I've had junkyard motors that ran strong for years.

 

498,000mile! That's just over 800,000km!! Fix that great machine and she'll be good for another 800,000km.

 

if it were me, i'd fix it... but, if you decide to sell it, I think you'd get a boat load more than $2000 in parts... If the frame's in good shape, I know someone who'd happily take that off your hands for close to half of that

 

I'm with the majority, I would fix it and take my chances.

 

Conventional wisdom says never spend more to repair a car than its worth. So if you could sell it for more than the cost to repair it after the repair, I say go for it. I mean really, she deserves to at least hit the half-million mark.

 

I'm thinking it's not just that engine with 480K miles but every component on the rig. It's just the engine that has reached the end of its useful life for now, that you know about. Just another point of view

 

I am thinking that I am going to go ahead and try to replace the head gasket myself. After reviewing the NADA and KBB values of the SUV I am confident the repair would not exceed the value. I found a few decent guides and videos on changing out the gasket. I was quite surprised to see that the value of the SUV in its current shape is around 3K.

I would hate to not see it reach the half-million mile mark when it is so close. Since the transmission still shifts smooth and majority of the components are in decent shape, I am hoping it will last another 500k. It could happen, as the compression readings on all the cylinders are within spec( all are within 7 Psi of one another, in the 190 range).

Thanks to all for the replies.

 

I figured I should update this thread.

I completed the repair...

AND

It was a B****.

I spent a whole weekend tearing down the motor. I then took the head to the shop for a Magnuflux test(everything was good there). I purchased an OEM head gasket from the dealership and new lifters as well as valve Springs/ Valve cover Seals. I waited until the next weekend to put it back together. This took a little longer than anticipated.

However the 4runner is running perfectly. No more coolant in the oil. No check engine lights. I anticipate that this will last at least another 200k miles easy.

I saved so much money doing it all myself.

En route to 750K Miles (Just 4 years with how much this vehicle is driven).

 

cut your losses unless you can work on it yourself ... eventually it will turn into (or already is) a $ sinkhole. been there once (a college car) and learned a lesson. Detach emotions from material possessions ... coming from a guy who still misses one of his old trucks took me 7 months to finally pull the plug but I didn't spend any $ on it this time and didn't want to sell either meanwhile the insurance company was making a good chunk of full-coverage $ on it lol